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A group of six quirky but brave kids fall into the way of a vast and dreadful supernatural malevolence that has invaded our world from the deepest abyss of oblivion. They must spend their lifetimes battling it, facing terror upon terror in the process.

A Familiar Premise with a Distinctive Approach

This describes the premise, broadly speaking, of the master of horror’s seminal work It (his best; no arguments). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joseph Hillstrom King’s new massive horror novel, in which six friends invoke the age-old, deeply sinister dragon the Sorrowful Monarch from the Abyssal Void to aid them in overcoming some antagonists. As one might expect, their otherworldly invocation has unintended consequences.

Celebrating a Family Lineage

The author launched his profession making great efforts to avoid any connection from his famous father, publishing under the pen name he continues to employ and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he possesses a striking resemblance to his dad). However, in his newest work, he embraces it. Several quotes that deliberately echo some of King’s most famous (that classic opening line); a moment that brings to mind a signature King element (a game of puzzles). In this epic story, the author rejoices in his family connection, and readers share in the joy.

The Cast of the Central Figures

Back to those friends: most are students at the fictional this academic setting in this northeastern locale. First is Arthur, studious and gifted, cracking ancient puzzles in his spare time; another key figure, rich, astute, and prone to trampling obstacles in his path; Donna and Donovan; the attractive the lovely Allie. And there’s Gwen, who remains outside their academic circle, but emerges as crucial of their circle as they toy, somewhat credulous, half not, in arcane arts.

The Critical Ceremony

Arthur is, for reasons we don’t need to go into, obliged to take prized manuscripts from his treasured institution’s archives by a set of regional villains. This tears at his bookish heart, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and unsettling publication: the journal of occultist this enigmatic character (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the book’s jacket is made from his skin). The intrepid group examine the log, discover they could summon what the occultist details as a “arrogant beast to assist Arthur with his extortion dilemma – and occupy the subsequent narrative enduring the repercussions. The dragon will indeed rid them of those annoying regional antagonists, but they’ll have to choose a fresh offering every twelve months or become his victim themselves. As Arthur later puts it: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is additional horrors.”

Stylistic Dexterity and Creative Breadth

Spanning forty years, Hill also moves with effortless ease across narrative styles: as the companions attempt to deal with the situation they find themselves in by, variously, choosing undeniably wicked targets to sacrifice, or hunting down ways to destroy the entity themselves, we move between page-turner to grim fantasy, clandestine torment to romance to terror. One particularly memorable shift was to a quest story, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a segment infused with the fantasy maestro that was gloriously terrifying.

An Expansive Canvas of Horror and Optimism

The novel features trolls – those living under bridges and online ones, properly scary and expertly realized. The story includes mystic weapons and treacheries, pulse-pounding sequences of valor and scenes of terrible wickedness, both earthly and extraterrestrial. This is a remarkable achievement: a chilling book that is primarily a ode to the creative spirit, and to love and friendship. “We longed for a tale to embrace and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says this character as the friends assemble around a surface, preparing to summon their dragon into being with the strength of their collective will.

As Hill puts it in his epigraph: “This is dragon territory”. Don’t miss them.